Amtrak to improve access at Latrobe train station

Amtrak intends to make changes at its train station in Latrobe to improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities.

According to Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll, the improvements will be designed this year, with construction in 2019.

A set of stairs leads up to the train platform from a parking area at Alexandria Street and McKinley Avenue — next to DiSalvo's Station Restaurant, which occupies the restored 1903 Pennsylvania Railroad station.

The platform has exterior benches under a canopy and additional benches inside a modest shelter.

Toll said Amtrak will replace the existing platform with a new version that rises 8 inches above the top of the rail.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a train platform at that height “generally does not provide level boarding” but “does facilitate boarding by ambulatory passengers.”

Amtrak also plans to modify parking, the stairs and the passenger waiting area, and will add signage that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Toll said.

The Latrobe station served 4,246 passengers and generated $247,569 in revenue in the 2017 fiscal year, according to Amtrak's Great American Stations Project website.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.